'This is predatory towing': Complaints pile up against downtown Carrboro mall

New towing practices at Carr Mill Mall in downtown Carrboro are causing frustration from town leaders, visitors and residents.

In the last couple months, the mall installed cameras through which to monitor parking, and began to tow those who they deem to have left the property.

As WRAL Investigates was on site interviewing people impacted in November, our team was spotted on the cameras, too, prompting Property Manager Nathan Milian to come out.

"Is this predatory towing?," WRAL Investigates Sarah Krueger asked Milian.

"No, it's not," he replied. "We have signs posted at every ... this is private property."

Krueger pointed out that the signs were not in compliance with town ordinance, due to font size. Milian had received notice of that from the town on Nov. 21 and was given a two-week window in which to fix it, before fines could be issued. Milian conceded that, and said they were working on new signs. A town spokesperson said the signs were later brought into compliance by Dec. 7, and no fines were issued to the mall.

"The people that we have towed, without exception, have not been our customers," Milian said. "They left the property."

WRAL Investigates spoke with Carrboro resident Brad Cox who said that's not the case. He said he went grocery shopping on the property, never once leaving it, and came out to find his car loaded up on a tow truck. He told WRAL the tow truck driver produced a picture he claimed was of Cox walking across the street.

Cox said the person in the photo was not him but rather a woman.

"We had the same color shirt on but different color pants and shoes," he said. "[The tow truck driver] had the audacity to tell me it was my lucky day ... And he said the lady watching the cameras never makes a mistake."

Barnes Towing, the company that tows from the lot, disputed that claim in an email, writing to WRAL: "I can say definitively that no vehicle has been Towed that the person(s) did not park and immediately leave the property. And we have not provided photos to any customer. Quite the opposite is the case: Every employee at Barnes Towing is required to be professional and courteous. We have video and audio surveillance on all vehicles and at our facilities, this every encounter is recorded."

WRAL Investigates also spoke with Sammy Johnson, a Carr Mill Mall customer who had a negative experience on Nov. 20.

Johnson admits he briefly crossed the street seeking out an ATM to get cash to spend at the mall. He then bought Christmas cards at the mall, came outside, and his Prius was gone.

"This is predatory towing," he said.

Johnson, a diabetic, said vital medication was inside his car. Without immediate access to it, he had a diabetic reaction.

"I started having a diabetic reaction, and I was transported by ambulance to UNC Hospital with blood sugar over 600," he said, noting the visit would likely cost him thousands of dollars. "My vision was getting blurry, I was having trouble standing up, and I was shaking."

Signs at Carr Mill Mall noted the towing fee is $300, the "hook fee" is $200, and storing a car after tow is $85 per day.

Milian said Carr Mill Mall needs the parking it has for its more than 40 tenants.

He believes there is a shortage of parking in downtown Carrboro, and that it is not the responsibility of his private lot to fill that void.

Town Councilman Sammy Slade hopes the Town can work with Milian and others to find solutions.

"In an ideal world if private lot owners could share their parking, we’d all benefit from it," Slade said. "And there are ways that the town is exploring how to incentivize that for private lot owners...I’m hoping that [Carr Mill Mall] management will understand this is damaging to his tenants, to our downtown, and it’s hurting a lot of people. And that in itself would be enough for them to do the right thing."

Cox believes the mall could offer a warning on first offense, rather than immediate towing.

Milian said hundreds of cars have been towed within the last couple months and the towing will continue, to send a message.